Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-03-26

ch' nanUOan Nailey railroad am The Blue
Ri, ge.
here is wei detite,l b,lt Of LIB airing
quartz running across III State through the
COUNTIES of Prince William, stafford, Sioti-
syIyauia, Louisa, Finvanna, Goorhland,
buckingham, Prince E,iwar,i, Charlotte and
Halifax. In many places on this belt mines
have been opened from time to time, and
worked with profit and success. With the
progr,ss of scientific improvement in the ex-
traction of GOLD, it may fiirly be expected
that &, mining i'll Virginia will become an
extensive industry. This precious metal has
al>o been found in Montgomery county.
And in the Blue Ridge range of mountains
in Roanoke and Patrick counties silver ores
have recently been ioun that give promise
of valuable results.
MICA AND PLUMBAGo.
In several of the counties near Richmond
deposits OF these minerals have been found,
and to some extent worked with profit
ASBESTOS AND sTeATITE.
Asbestos of good quality and workable
quantity exists in the counties lying be
tive Ell the upper James ana The upper Dan
rivers at several places, notably in Plttsyl'
vania, Henry, and Patrick. Seattle Soap
stone) of fine quality for resisting the most
intense heat is found in Amelia, Albemarle
and some other counties of Middle and Pied
mont Virginia.
KAoLIN AND FIRE oLAYs.
These valuable substances have been found
in large quantities in many ofthe Piedmont
counties, and in Augusta county near the
Blue Ridge. The latter deposit is extensive
ly worked
LIME AND CEMENT.
Metamorphic limestones exist in the Val
ley of James river between Richmond and
Silurian limestone extends
fom the Potomac to Tennessee in great va
riety. Since the dis overy that building lime
with a large percentage of the carbonate of
magnesia is a poor material to use in the
mortar of large buildings and other perma-
nent works of masonry and brick, peculiar
value attaches to beds of pure carbonate of
lime such beds fortunately exist at con-
venent localities in the great Shenandoah
Valley, and lme-burning is already carried
on there at two pOints-Riyerton, in War
rem county, aud Eagle Rock. in Botetourt-
where an article is produced entirely free
from magnesia and is in great demand for
city work, where the sulphurous tunes of
coal combustion are SO destructive TO mag
nesian- lime mortar. As this pure limestone
exists in many places the industry IS rap
idly growing and profitable one.
Most excellent hydraulic cement has been
produced for many years and in large guam
uty at Balcony Falls in Rockbridge county.
The stone is also found in Bedford near
Buford's Gap, but has not been utilised.
PLASTER (GYpsuM).
On the waters of the north fork of Holston
river, in the counties OF Smyth and Wash
ington, there are many miles in length of
an immense ledge of gypsum, as pure as
that brought from Nova Scotia. 1t has
been penetrated to the depth of nearly 600
feet and no bottom found. We have here a
quantity of this valuable fertiliser that is
practically exhaustless for centuries to come
SALT.
In conjunction with the aforementioned
plaster bank, the celebrated wells of salt ex-
ist that have been used for century at
Saltville, in Washington county, and dur
ing The late civil war supplied nearly the
whole Confederacy east of the Mississippi
with the Indispensable article of salt of the
greatest purity. No diminution in supply or
quality has ever been detected. The produc-
lion now is about half million bushels an
nually.
In many of the Tidewater counties enor-
nous beds of blue and green sand mari and
shells are found but few feet below the sur
face, supplying a fertilizing material at a
nominal cost that is rapi ly converting all
that region into the garden spot of the CONT
nent for supplying the great cities of the At
lantic coast with table vegetables Of the
highest excellence and is giving such i'm
portance to the peanut culture.
sULPHrRET OF IRON (PYRITEs).
Immense mines of pyrites are worked in
Louisa county and the products shipped
North for the use of sulphuric acid manu-
So important has this industry
become that branch railroads have been run
to the mines from the main line of the New
port News and Mississippi Valley railroad.
Other large deposits exist in the mountain
regions bordering on North Carolina, but
needing a railroad for their development.
BARYTA.
Great quantities of this mineral have been
shipped from the Valley and Southwestern
counties since the war.
BUILDING STONES.
Virginia probably stands first amongst the
States in the variety and beauty of her build
ing stones, beginning with her GRANTEES and
states in eastern Virgin a and extending to
her limestones in the west, her brOwnstones
in several eastern counties, her marbles in
Loudoun, Rockingham, Augusta, Rock
br dye. Bedford, Russell and Scott counties,
and ending with the beautiful sandstones of
the south western coalfield in half dozen
This merely ours ~ glance at our
mineral resources is all that We have space
for. The cabinet of specimens being collect
ed by the Department of Agriculture at
Richmond will bear out and illustrate the
text of this report in a most striking man
ner to the eye Of any stranger who will call
and examine il.
TIMBER RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA.
The great timber regions of the State are
located at its opposite extremes. The Dismal
Swamp forests have been mine of wealth.
to their owness since the war. From Suf-
folk two narrow gauge roads have been built
through these forests for the sole purpose OF
hauling out the lumber from numerous saw
mills. Pine and cypress predominant in
that section. Nearly all the South-side
counties lying between the James river and
North Carolina are productive oflarge guam
titles of excellent pine and white-oak lum-
Der. AS we approach the Blue Ridge the
pine gives place to the hard woods. The
forests of Franklin, Henry and Patrick are
valuable even up to the summit of the
their way in there. cutting black walnut
poplar, white oak, ash and hickory. All
over Eastern Virginia the black and red oaks
grow. and have supplied, and for long
time will continue to furnish, large quaint
ties of bark Tor tanning purposes. In
the Shenandoah Valley, except along
the slopes of its bordering mountains,
there is no great quantity of lumber to be
had but in the mountains lying west of The
Valley there is great deal of valuable hard
wood timber still standing. But the timber
region par excellence of the State is in the
In the counties of Buchanan,
Dickinson and Wise the forests are inn
mense. The population is sparse, and the
timber is so heavy that clearing the land is
difficult. Hence the opened farms are far
apart, and are, as a rule, mere patches in
the wilderness. Black walnut, poplar, chest
nut, hickory, maple, ash, white oak, black
oak, chestnut oak, beech, birch, sugar and red
naples and some hemlock in the dark hol-
lows are the trees one meets with. Some
times a spot of few hundred acres is found
covered with wild cherry. All the
trees mentioned attain an enormous
size in these forests. All the. 9th